


You weren't like this yesterday

by owlaholic68



Series: Evil Karma Carla [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 2
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Evil, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Minor Spoilers, Stockholm Syndrome, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-29 19:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12637923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlaholic68/pseuds/owlaholic68
Summary: Lenny can't look her in the eyes anymore. Carla's turned into something he'd never thought possible, a monster who tears up everything in her path to get what she wants. But he can't leave now, not when she loves him so fiercely, so possessively. Not when he loves her a little, too.An Evil Karma Carla.





	1. Chapter 1

Carla yanks the knife out of the unmoving body of one of the guards, head snapping up as a bullet grazes past her arm.

“Don’t get any closer!” T-Ray the mechanic yells, a pistol pointed at her. Carla flips the knife and hurls it, frowning when the blade hits his shoulder. _Damn it. I really need to practice._ T-Ray drops his gun and stumbles backwards, hand clasped over his bleeding shoulder. Carla grits her teeth and runs at the short and defenseless mechanic, fists raised.

Outside the Chop Shop, Lenny leans against the wall, hands over his ears. At his feet, Dogmeat happily gnaws on a bone, uncaring of the tornado of violence taking place inside the garage. Lenny jumps when the door next to him opens, uncovering his ears. Carla walks out, wiping her hands on her armor. She twirls a set of keys and grins.

“Let’s go for a ride, Len.”

Lenny tries not to look at the bodies littering the ground, but can’t help but notice them, can’t help but choke on the stench of death and blood. Carla grins and chatters about the new upgrades they installed, _for free_ , and even helps him into the passenger seat with a warm hand on his back. They leave the Chop Shop- now a graveyard – far behind, heading east into the wasteland.

* * *

“Interesting.” Carla taps a few buttons on her Pip-Boy. “Missing people, you said? I’ll keep an eye out.” _Missing humans. That’s worrying._

Marcus, sheriff of Broken Hills, nods. “That’s all I ask. If you’re looking for more work, go see Zaius at the mine.”

Carla keeps her face straight, but inwardly frowns at Lenny, who’s hovering behind her. _He’s scared of the mutants. I don’t like that these people- no, these **mutants,** scare him like that. When he’s with me, he shouldn’t be scared of anything. _She nods to Marcus, then takes Lenny’s hand and starts walking in the other direction. _I don’t trust them. Len said that mutants had attacked Necropolis, drove the ghouls out of town. I’ve never heard of super mutants being peaceful. And if it comes down to it, I know which side I’m choosing._

She wanders around town, learning about the tensions between the factions in town. Finally, she finds herself in the residential part of Broken Hills, and nearly runs into a short man in a bedraggled lab coat.

“Oh, you’re a newcomer,” he comments once introduced. “Come, sit down. I have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Carla sits in a chair, Lenny remaining standing behind her, with one hand on the back of her chair.

“First of all, how do you feel about mutants?”

Carla grimaces. “Not a fan. Never heard anything good.” She reaches up and squeezes Lenny’s hand. “Don’t trust this place.”

Jacob leans forward and conspiratorially whispers, “That’s what I thought. Ever since _Sheriff_ Marcus came in and started ruling things, we humans have been pushed around. There's a friend of a friend who had friends who disappeared after speaking up. This place is becoming a killing ground for mutants.”

“Why don’t you fight back?” Carla asks.

Jacob sighs. “Actually, we are. But to do it, I need two of my friends broken out of the jail. Are you with us?” Carla looks back at Lenny, then turns back to Jacob and nods. “Alright, then. Here’s the plan.”

* * *

“Are y-you sure about this?” Lenny boldly grabs her arm once they’re alone in an alleyway. Carla turns.

“Of course I’m sure, Len. These people need to be free.”

He curls his fingers in the fabric of her sleeve. “Breaking some people out of prison, that- that was, that was one thing, C-Carla, but this- this is-”

“Don’t worry about it,” she says, putting an arm around his shoulders and hugging him close. “I’ll get in, put the charge on the air purifier, and run like hell. You should stay back with the car.” He shakily nods.

“Okay. I’ll go- and I- I’ll wait there for your return. Just, just be c-careful, okay?”

“Always. Now go. These mutants won’t know what hit them.” _And this place will finally be safe._

* * *

Carla turns the pistol over in her hand. She leans against the hood of the Highwayman and waits for the sun to rise. The pistol is small, weaker and older than anything she’d use. A few feet away next to the embers of a campfire, Lenny starts to stir. Carla waits until he’s fully awake before speaking.

“Len,” she says, and holds out the gun. “What’s this?”

He freezes, and a flicker of fear flashes across his gaunt face. His hand moves to his chest, his eyes widening in realization of what’s missing. Carla had found the gun by accident when she had noticed something metallic and hard under his clothing while he slept.

“It- it’s not, it- Carla-” He scoots backwards, voice high.

She frowns. _I don’t want him to be so scared of me._ She sets the gun on the hood of the car, then sits down on the dirt. “Come here, Len. I’m not mad, I just want to talk.” _I don’t like lying to him. I **am** mad. But he’s never going to let me talk to him if he thinks I’m going to hurt him. _He hesitates before sitting a few feet away. She forces a small smile and moves closer. He doesn’t move away, but does flinch when she gets a little too close.

Carla sighs. “I said no guns, Len. You remember. No guns for my Lenny.” She watches his face.

“I’m sorry, C-Carla,” he says, voice barely louder than a whisper. “I’m just not- I know you said it, but w-what if-”

“Don’t talk like that,” Carla interrupts. “What made you not trust me anymore, Len? I said that nothing would _ever_ happen to you.” She puts a hand on his bony shoulder. He avoids her gaze, staring at the ground. “You remember what I said to do, right? Tell me so I know you know.”

Lenny twists his fingers together. “If someone- you said that I need to yell and – and scream for you. Real loud, not – not quiet-like.” His voice trails off at the end, and he peeks up at her. She nods for him to continue. “And if- only if I need to, I, uh, I hafta stab them and run.”

“That’s right.” Carla makes sure he still has his small knife strapped to his belt. “You let me do the fighting. You’re just a doctor.” Her hand moves up to his neck, then to his cheek. “And if some punk tries anything, tries to get clever and looks at you the wrong way, you know I’ll fucking tear them apart, right? They’ll be nothing more than chunks of rotten flesh by the time I’m done with them.”

Lenny starts softly crying, covering his face with both hands.

“Oh, no, Len, don’t cry,” Carla shifts him halfway into her lap and gently pries his hands away from his face. “Don’t worry about any of that. You’re always going to be safe with me, you know that, I’m never going to let anything happen to you. I’d blow up New Reno for you, Len. I’d kill every super mutant, every Enclave bastard that tries to hurt you.” She wipes his tears away with dirty and bloodstained fingers. “They took everything from me. My family, my home, everyone I had ever loved. But now I’ve got you, and they aren’t _ever_ going to take you away, okay? We’re going to stay together forever, and I’m going to make sure that everyone who hurts us _pays_.”

He starts sobbing, curling up in her arms. “Oh, Len,” Carla fondly sighs and holds him close. “You’re so soft and sweet, so nice. That’s why I like you. That’s why you can’t have a gun, Len. I’m not going to make you _kill_ someone. No, not my gentle Len, no.” _I’m going to keep him close and never let him go, I’m going to make sure he never gets even a scratch. I can’t lose him. I can’t. I can’t. I won’t._ “You’re not like me. I’m- I’m not like that anymore. I’m not sure if I ever was.” She thinks of her training, of every time she punched geckos into bloody bits, every time one of her uncles had to pull her away from a fight screaming in fury. “I don’t need to be sweet and sugary to get things done.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Lenny slowly calming down. He can’t look at her, instead curling his fingers in the hem of his shirt and staring at his feet. She pats his cheek once before helping him stand up.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s hit the road. We’ve still got a long ways to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might do another couple of chapters with this, maybe explore the Hubologist route or do more of Lenny's POV? We'll see what happens.   
> If you're not familiar with Fallout 2 quests, the ones mentioned in this were: "Recover your stolen car", "Break Manson and Frank out of prison", and "Blow up the mine's air purifier", if you want to read more about the Evil Karma ways to finish these quests. Also, Carla definitely has the Bloody Mess perk and the Berserker reputation.  
> If Lenny's voice sounds a little different, it's because I'm trying out some things with him to help his dialogue read a little more naturally.  
> Tagged as "unhealthy relationships" because Carla's a little manipulative, here, a little over-possessive and codependent. And it's not really good for Lenny to be totally terrified of her. It's not abusive per se, but it's not...a model relationship.


	2. Chapter 2

Lenny nervously looks around, his grip tightening on the shovel. Carla looks over at him and smiles, her right hand pointing a gun at a thin man walking in front of them. The man, Pretty Boy Lloyd stops in front of a grave.

“Here.”

A crow perched on one of the decaying corpses loudly caws. Across the graveyard, one of the half-dead bodies strung to a pole groans.

“Good.” Carla nudges Lenny to give him the shovel, watching Pretty Boyd Lloyd with narrowed eyes. “Dig.”

“But-” The thief tries to protest.

Carla raises the gun. “There's two kinds of people in the world, Lloyd. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.” She gestures with the pistol. “Now get started. We don’t have all day.”

Lenny jumps as a crow lands a little too close. He looks up at Carla, who is watching Lloyd dig with a slight smirk on her face. _She always points guns at people with a smile. She has a pretty smile. I just wish she wouldn’t grin like this when she’s about to kill someone._ Lenny knows that there’s no chance of her letting Lloyd go free. Even if the Salvatores hadn’t specified that they wanted Lloyd punished for the theft, Carla would have killed him anyway.

He silently wraps an arm around her waist and buries his head in her shoulder. _She’d do it for me. She’s done worse. She’d say that it was to tie off loose ends, she’d brush it off, but it’d be to protect us. I wish she wouldn’t._ He doesn’t look when Lloyd finishes digging and opens the hatch to his bunker. He tries not to listen when Carla shoots him in the head without hesitation, Lloyd’s corpse falling with a heavy _thud_.

“You stay here,” Carla says, disentangling herself from him. “I’ll be just down and back.” He nods and watches her climb down the ladder and out of sight. Only then does he wrap his arms around himself and close his eyes, trying to ignore where he was. _I wish she wouldn’t bring me with her. Golgotha is the last place I ever wanted to go. Couldn’t she have left me back on Virgin Street with the Highwayman?_ Lenny takes a deep breath and quickly straightens when he hears the _thunk_ of Carla’s boots coming back up the ladder.

She waves a thick stack of bills and smiles wide. There’s a speck of blood on her cheek. “We’re good to go. Let’s get back to Salvatore and tell him the news, okay?”

“Sound-sounds good,” Lenny says. He stops her with a gentle hand on her shoulder, reaching out with his thumb to wipe the blood off her face. She takes his hand and kisses it, lips brushing over his knuckles. He quietly gasps. Carla gets like this sometimes, after she’s killed someone in cold blood. It happens more often than not these days.

She gets affectionate and sweet with him, even more than usual. She’s always holding his hand, but after committing murder, she clings to him and kisses him all over, whispering things that make him blush in embarrassment. She tells him how much she loves him, how she would do anything to make him happy, how she would buy him anything he asked, how pretty his pale eyes are when he smiles.

So Lenny ignores their surroundings and shakes the still-cooling corpse behind them from his mind, kissing Carla on the cheek and shyly murmuring that he loves her. _And I do. Not every day, not always. But even when she does these awful things, she’s still Carla. And that’s enough for me._

* * *

Lenny remembers their first kiss.

It was a while ago, before Carla had really showed her true colors. _After all, if John Cassidy knew how she really was, he never would have come with us. He would still be alive. If I had known, would I have joined her? Maybe I still would have. It’s no use dwelling on what-ifs, though._

They are in the Sierra Army Base, scouting out the heavily-guarded fortress for the Wright family in New Reno. Along the way, however, an artificial intelligence has started communicating to them via computer terminal. Cassidy had argued against activating a robot body for Skynet, but Lenny had taken Carla’s side with the argument that a robot companion would be incredibly useful in combat. Cassidy had grunted his disapproval, wrinkled his nose, and turned his back.

Carla squeezes his hand, shooting Cassidy a dark look. The grizzled fighter had not stopped complaining about Lenny, refusing to stand next to him, and quietly grumbling about his smell. They stand in an elevator slowly heading down to the fourth and bottom level: Organ Extraction and Storage. Carla has the biomed gel and robot motivator, but Skynet still needs a physical brain to occupy.

The elevator dings and the doors open, the hallway leading further into the complex blocked by a yellow force field. Another bright barrier blocks the passage for the stairs. Carla kneels and pulls off a panel, fiddling with some wires. They’ve done this a dozen times in order to get through the base’s complex security system. Cassidy stands to the side and crosses his arms.

The force field dissipates and Carla stands and quickly passes through it, Cassidy next to her and Lenny just a step behind. Then Cassidy turns and shoves Lenny. His back hits the other force field, the surface sparking and hissing. He loses a second to surprise, and moves too late to catch up. The yellow force field re-activates in front of his face, Carla and Cassidy on the other side.

“What the fuck?” Carla whirls on Cassidy. He holds up his hands in a placating gesture.

“Sorry, just needed a break from his _stench_.” Cassidy doesn’t see Carla reach for her gun, her posture still aggressive and _danger_.

“C-Carla,” Lenny whispers, his fingers hovering over the electric field. “I- I’m okay, I’m not hurt or anything, C-Carla, it- it’s-” _I’m worried about what she’ll do._

Looking back, Lenny is impressed with her control. _She could have killed him right there. Nowadays, that’s what she’d do. She’d punch him until he was nothing but blood and bits on the floor. And then she’d kiss me and tell me she loves me._

Carla looks over at him and confirms his safety, then forces herself to relax. “Len, you’ll be safe there. Just stay until,” she smiles and his stomach drops. _Uh oh. That’s not the **good** smile. _“Until we come back, okay? I won’t be long.” She waves to Cassidy. “Let’s go.”

They disappear down the hallway, and Lenny sits down to wait, back against the elevator doors.

Five minutes pass, then ten. Then Carla turns the corner. She’s alone, carrying a jar under one arm. She sets down the jar, a brain gently floating in the gel. In a few seconds, she has the force field back open, and quickly scoots through before it closes.

Lenny glances at the jar when they enter the elevator. “What- where’s-”

“Don’t worry about Cassidy anymore,” Carla says, holding an eyeball up to the elevator controls. The car starts to slowly raise. “You know all you have to do is ask, Len, and I’ll get rid of someone for you. Anyone, any reason, you just say the word and I’ll rip them apart. You’re too sweet sometimes, and that’s fine with me. I don’t want you getting your hands dirty with some bastard’s blood. But I’ll do anything for you, I’ll kill any fucking idiot that you want. You know that, right?” She puts a hand on his waist and she’s so _close_ , he can’t hardly breathe. _She killed him. Oh my God, that’s- is that his brain? She tore out his brain because he pushed me and called me names. What would she do if someone actually hurt me?_

Carla traces the gaunt line of his jaw with her fingers, then leans in and kisses him. It’s soft and sweet, and he loses himself in it without a second thought. She pulls away when the elevator doors open. Lenny takes her hand without a second thought, though a nagging worry sticks in the back of his mind: _How far would she go if pushed?_

He doesn’t dare ask about the brain, but Carla answers his question when they leave the elevator. “He might have a bad heart,” she murmurs, smirking. “But he sure had a fine brain.”

* * *

Carla sits in the back of the car and counts money, lips moving silently as she stacks wrinkled bills on the seat. Lenny holds a fist-sized gadget covered in grease.

“I’ve only got 500 dollars,” Carla mutters. “And at least half of that has to go towards ammunition and food. We’re dangerously low on both.”

“Smitty said- he said he wants 750 dollars to install the- the part?” Lenny confirms.

Carla sighs and shoves the money back into a bag before tucking it into her armor. They’re sitting in the Highwayman, which is parked on the edge of the Den. Carla had recently found a part for the car that Smitty had claimed would make it more fuel efficient. They had been burning through fuel cells recently, and Carla was worried about being able to make it back down to San Francisco with what they had left.

“Let’s look around and try to find some work.” They exit the car and start walking through the downtown, Carla warily keeping an eye on strangers that pass too close. Her shoulders are tense, shackles raised in preparation for a fight. _She’s worried about the money. And everything else too._ Lenny squeezes her hand. _Things go bad real fast when she’s like this. The slightest thing sets her off. That, or she’ll jump at every opportunity without thinking about the moral consequences. Not that she does much of that anyways. The job doesn’t matter, long as it pays._

Person after person rejects them, or ducks into doorways as she approaches to ask. Carla’s gained a reputation, and even complete strangers know her penchant for murder. Normally, it opens more doors than it closes. But today, even the seedy parts of the Den, all of the doors seem to be closed.

Except one. Next to Mom’s Diner, a fading sign advertises the Slaver’s Guild. Lenny abruptly stops, but Carla continues, jerking his arm by accident. “Come on,” she insists, “they won’t hurt us. I’m only going to stop in and ask Metzger for some work. It’ll only take a second.”

He shakes his head, stomach dropping to his feet. _She can’t be serious… Joining the Slavers?_ “C-Carla, this isn’t- it’s not a good, really not- not a good idea, C-Carla-”

“It’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?” She fully turns to him in the middle of the street.

He hesitates. _Uh oh._

“Len,” her voice lowers, and she leans in close. His shoulders hunch and he tries to shrink away. “I said, don’t you _trust_ me, Len?”

“Of course I do, it- it’s just,” he takes a deep breath and tries to wriggle his hand out of her grasp. “This is- it’s too far, C-Carla. The Slavers-”

She tightens her grip on his hand. “I told you not to worry about it. We need-”

“No we don’t!” Lenny surprises himself by interrupting. Carla’s brows come together. “We- it’s not like it’s urgent, we don’t- we can last until New Reno at least.” He wrests his hand away with a wince. “We can- we could sell my armor, or even- we have some extra chems we don’t use, C-Carla, you don’t have to-”

She cuts him off with a glare. “This is my decision, not yours. And I say we do it. That’s final.” She grabs his arm and starts to drag him towards the building. “Let’s go.”

Lenny digs his heels in, his breathing picking up in panic. _She’s never forced me like this. This is too far, even for her. I can’t- I can’t do this anymore. I won’t. I can’t keep letting her do these things and just silently accepting it. There has to be a line in the sand. And I think she’s just crossed it._

He tries to struggle, but she’s the one who fights, not him, and has her superior strength on her side. With a pang of guilt, he remembers the knife at his hip. _I don’t want to. But this has to stop now._ He draws the blade and points it at her with a shaking hand. “Carla, no. Stop.”

She whirls at the glint of metal and grabs his wrist, twisting it roughly. Lenny yelps and drops the knife, flinching as she looms over him. Carla lets go of him and he rubs his wrist, stumbling backwards as fast he can.

“What the _fuck_ , Len?” Carla snarls, fingers twitching towards the gun at her side.

Lenny instinctively shrinks. _She could kill me without a second thought. Maybe she would._ “C-Carla,” he pleads her name. _I love her, but I can’t do this anymore._ He straightens and blinks back tears. “It’s this or me, C-Carla. You do this,” he swallows hard, “you go- you walk in that door, I’ll leave.”

“No!” She shouts, startling him. A few tears slide down his cheeks. _What if she just lets me go? What if she doesn’t?_ “No, Len, I won’t let you. You can’t _leave_ , not after all we’ve gone through _together_. I’m going to walk in there and get us some money, then we’re going to walk away. _Together_.” Carla takes a step forward and he flinches backwards.

“You heard it – you heard what I said, and I-I mean it, C-Carla.” Lenny sniffles. _She doesn’t like to see me cry. Maybe then she’ll know I’m serious about this._ “You walk in there, I walk away. I could – I can take the rest of it, everything- all of the things you do, but not-not this, this is where I won’t follow.” He takes a step backwards, then another.

She stares at him in disbelief and fury. Carla slowly reaches down and unholsters her pistol, holding it loosely in her hand. She extends her other hand towards him, but it feels less inviting and more demanding. “Len, come here. I’m not arguing with you about this. I’ve made my decision, and that’s it.” She notices Lenny’s eyes tracking the gun and tucks it behind her back. “Len, you don’t need to worry about this shit. You just stick with me and you’ll always be safe, I promise. Just forget about this, okay?” Her tone turns pleading at the end, sickeningly sweet in a way that turns his stomach.

“No, C-Carla.” He takes a deep breath and picks up his foot to step backwards. _She can’t manipulate me that easily._ Carla sees the movement of his leg and raises the gun. He freezes. “You- you’d what, _shoot_ me, C-Carla? You- you _wouldn’t_ ,” he starts to lower his foot and Carla moves the barrel to point at his leg.

Tears well up in her eyes. “Len, don’t make me. Don’t test that. You take another step away from me, you’re going to regret it.”

His heart hurts, his head feels disconnected from the rest of his body. _I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her cry._ He distantly realizes he’s sobbing, loud gasps shaking his chest. _I have to believe that she’d never hurt me. She loves me. She’d never- I don’t think she’d ever go that far. There’s only one way to find out, though._

Lenny takes a step back.

Then he crumples to the dirt, screaming and curling up around his right leg. Carla hadn’t even hesitated. Now she stands above him with the gun pointed at his head.

“C-Carla,” Lenny gasps, “I can’t- I can’t _believe-_ ” _She actually shot me._ He tries to stand, but can’t put any weight on his leg without it collapsing under him.

She leans down and he can’t flinch away in time, not before she drags the barrel of the pistol across his cheek, wiping away a few hot tears with the even hotter metal. She smiles. “Len, that was so fucking stupid. Now come on.” She holsters the gun and hefts him over her shoulder, walking back towards the entrance to the Den.

Lenny tries to calm himself, but his heart is pounding. _Is she going to kill me? For all that she obsessed over my safety, she had no problem with hurting me herself._ “Please- _please_ , C-Carla, let-let me go.” He tries to kick with his uninjured leg, but it’s ineffective against her armor. She ignores him. _How could it have all turned like this? I thought- I thought she **loved** me. I thought I loved her._

Carla opens the back door of the Highwayman, setting Lenny down on the bench seat. “You’re going to stay here, okay?” She frowns at him, then takes a length of bandage from the Highwayman’s first aid kit. She winds it roughly around his leg, tying it off and not bothering to even give him a Stimpack. He tries to adjust the bandage, but she deflects his hands, then ducks into the trunk. He takes advantage of her diverted attention to try and limp away. His bad leg wobbles and he falls on his face with a pained grunt.

She reappears in the corner of his blurry vision, holding a length of rope and not looking angry, just disappointed. “Oh, Len. What happened to you trusting me?” She bends down and winds the rope around his wrists, tying them tightly behind his back. Then she moves down to his ankles and does the same, the rough rope biting into his skin when he squirms. Carla picks him up and sits him back up on the seat.

“Stop it, please, C-Carla, don’t-”

Lenny sees stars from the force of her slap. He swallows blood.

“Shut your goddamn mouth,” she yells, raising a hand to hit him again. “From now on, the only words I want to hear out of your _ungrateful_ lips are ‘Yes, Carla’, ‘I’m sorry, Carla’, and ‘I love you, Carla’. If any other fucking _filth_ comes from your tongue, I’ll cut it off, okay?”

He chokes back a sob. _Is this what she was always like?_ “Yes, C-Carla. I- I’m sorry.” _Why don’t I just let her kill me and be done with it?_

“Good.” She cups his cheek, suddenly gentle. “I’m going to go now, but I’ll be back. Then we’ll take our money and hit the road.” She kisses him and he wants so badly to pull away. But the last thing he wants to do right now is re-ignite her anger. “I love you, Len.” She looks at him expectantly.

“I love you too.”

The worst part is that he’s not sure he’s lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeahhh so that "unhealthy relationships" tag turned to abuse real quick. 
> 
> Go read the alternate "good" ending [here.](https://owlaholic68.tumblr.com/post/167216768619/you-werent-like-this-yesterday-chapter-two-good)
> 
> John Cassidy will not join an Evil Karma character, so this is definitely early days. That, or he just didn't realize.  
> Lenny will often disband if the Chosen One joins the Slaver's Guild in his company. It's actually the only thing that will make him leave (versus characters like Cassidy, Marcus, and Sulik, who have many different conditions).  
> You can absolutely use the brain extractor in the Sierra Army Base to extract a companion's brain (even Marcus and Goris, or the dogs!), and you get a ton of negative Karma for it. Fun fact, it is also the only way for you to kill Myron without becoming a childkiller! Fun Fact #2: unless you have an amazing Science skill, it's your best chance at getting a human brain for Skynet! 
> 
> Quests involved in this chapter were: "Track down Pretty Boy Lloyd, recover the stolen money, and make an… example of him", "Find a way into the Sierra Army Base", and "Assemble a body for Skynet".
> 
> I think I'm going to do one more to round it off?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for abuse and manipulation.

To an outsider, nothing is wrong.

 But Goris has been travelling with them for less than a day, and he’s always prided himself on being observant. He sees, but he doesn’t understand.

At first, he writes it off as over-protectiveness. He doesn’t know much about humans, but he’s seen parents and children. But when he tries to overlay that model over Carla and Lenny, it doesn’t quite fit. There’s a paranoia in the way Carla watches their surroundings. Even Goris himself feels her surveying him constantly, tensing up when he gets too close to Lenny.

Maybe it’s love. He’d read about that, and at first it seems like it fits. Carla keeps Lenny close and is very tactile, always holding his hand or sitting with him in her arms. And Lenny reciprocates, but he’s shyer about it.

But when Goris accidentally bumps into Lenny when the group is getting into an elevator, he realizes that he’s not shy. He’s _scared_.

When Goris brushes him with his huge body and Lenny stumbles, Carla immediately rounds on the deathclaw.

“I’m sorry, C-Carla,” Lenny immediately blurts, grabbing her arm. Goris, ever observant, notices that Carla’s hand is on her gun, and that Lenny’s eyes are a little too wide, too pleading. “It was just- I just tripped over his foot. I’m- see, I’m fine, really.” Carla buys the lie, but Goris doesn’t understand why Lenny even lied about something that simple. He had jumped so quickly to Goris’ defense, as if…as if Lenny had known that the situation was going to turn dangerous. _Carla had had her hand on her gun. For something as simple as an accident._ Goris resolves to watch himself more closely, to avoid any further accidents.

He could have written off Lenny’s reaction as nervousness, a precaution to guard against Carla’s quick temper. But then they stopped for the night, parking the Highwayman under an outcropping of rock.

“I’ll be fine laying on the hood,” Goris assures them. He might be able to sit in the backseat of the car, but he’d rather sleep under the stars. The car is still warm, and Goris curls up on the smooth metal, quickly finding himself comfortable. Curious, he keeps one golden eye open to watch Carla and Lenny, who are sitting in the backseat.

They put the seat down so there’s enough room, then Carla takes something out one of her pockets. Lenny seems surprised, but says nothing. _He doesn’t seem to say a lot._ He turns his back to Carla, and Goris hears a series of soft clicks. He raises his head a little to see better, and is confused at what he sees. Lenny turns back to Carla, a pair of thin handcuffs keeping his arms behind his back.

“I got those for you from the Vault,” she whispers. “I know you didn’t find the rope very comfortable, but you were too sweet to complain.”

Goris doesn’t understand. This is _not_ a normal human thing, as far as he’s concerned. And he’s not naïve, he’s heard of rituals like this for more…intimate purposes, but that doesn’t seem to fit. _Why do humans use those things? The Vault computer recommended them for criminals, or to keep someone prisoner._ But Lenny doesn’t seem concerned or upset, or even trying to escape.

Carla kisses him and Goris feels like he’s intruding, and he closes his eye and settles in to sleep.

“I love you,” she whispers. “Good night.”

As he falls asleep, Goris isn’t sure he hears Lenny’s reply correctly. _That can’t have been what he said._

“Thank you, C-Carla. I love you too.”

* * *

This routine repeats itself every night.

They run into a pack of giant mantises, and Carla and Goris easily fight them off. Lenny stays in the car. Goris thinks that it’s from cowardice, then he realizes that the ghoul’s not even _armed_. _Who walks this wasteland with not so much as a knife on them?_

It doesn’t matter much, though. Carla eviscerates the enemies, and Goris watches her back and makes sure none of them surround her. When all of the mantises are crushed to dust, Carla opens the passenger side door and Lenny wraps his arms around her. Goris pretends he’s not watching, inspecting his claws and idly scratching them on a rock.

“You did- that was real great, C-Carla.”

She kisses up and down his neck, murmuring things he can’t hear. Lenny doesn’t say anything else, stroking Carla’s hair and ignoring the mantis blood covering her body. They stay like that for a few minutes, until Carla kisses him one last time and smiles. Lenny smiles back, but Goris’ sharp eyes can see his hands shaking. _In fear, or…something else? He almost looks relieved, or happy._ Carla waves the deathclaw over, and Goris climbs back into the backseat. _I can’t understand these humans and their contradictory emotions._

* * *

Goris has never seen San Francisco before, but he’s seen pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. He doesn’t quite remember there being any mention of a spaceship parked on it, but at least the rusting red columns are familiar. He’s so absorbed with looking up at the towering wreck of a monument, he almost runs into Carla and Lenny, who have abruptly stopped in front of the stairs to the Hubologist’s bunker.

“Len,” Carla says, holding Lenny’s wrist instead of his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he stutters. “Please, C-Carla, can I- may I wait up here, with- maybe with Goris?”

“No, you may not. You’re going down there with me, okay?” Carla leans in close and Lenny flinches. “Don’t you _trust_ me, Len?”

“Yes.” Lenny immediately replies, staring down at his feet. “It’s just that- they, they’re _scary_ , C-Carla, and, and they-” Goris sees for the first time that Lenny’s not just scared of Carla; he’s _terrified_ of her.

“ _Len_ ,” Carla growls, “I don’t want to hear your fucking whining, remember?” He nods and sniffles, tears welling up in his eyes. “Oh, Len, don’t cry,” Carla wipes away the tears that drip down onto his hollow cheeks. “It’s going to be okay, I won’t let them hurt you. You remember I said that, right?”

Goris is getting emotional whiplash from this conversation, but some pieces are starting to come together. _Lenny’s too scared of her. I thought she would never hurt him, but I don’t think he’d be like this if all she did was yell at him. Speaking of which, she’s apparently told him to shut up before._ Goris thinks about how little Lenny says, and how much of what he _does_ say is compliments, or apologies, or the “I love you” that he says every night before going to bed. _He goes to bed handcuffed. She doesn’t let him out of her sight. He isn’t allowed to argue with her. Why doesn’t he just leave if she treats him so badly?_

After Carla has calmed Lenny down, they enter the Hubologist’s bunker. She asks Goris to wait outside, and that suits him just fine. The tight corridors of the bunker would be cramped and uncomfortable for him.

The waiting gives him time to think.

* * *

Goris hates Wanamingos. The monsters are slippery and tough, and he’s seen one slap a deathclaw and send it flying ten feet.

Carla takes down a few, and Goris manages to get a couple himself. Lenny, as always, is in the car, ducked down in the seat. There are two monsters left when Carla grunts, and Lenny screams something. Goris turns and sees Carla face-down in the dirt. There’s no blood, but she doesn’t get back up, fully unconscious. The Wanamingo over her screeches and flaps its tentacles.

Goris swipes at the monster in front of him, and when he turns, Lenny is out of the car and skidding to his knees at Carla’s side. He ducks a swing from the abomination and pulls out a small pistol from Carla’s back pocket. He shakily shoots and misses, and has to duck again. Goris finishes his fight and turns in time to see the Wanamingo fall dead. Lenny drops the gun.

“Is she okay?” Goris asks, jogging over to them. Lenny turns Carla over and inspects her head, nodding and relaxing.

“Just- it’s just a concussion. Must have- it must have hit her in the head.” He shows Goris the sizeable lump forming near her temple, then rummages in one of Carla’s pockets and pulls out a Stimpack. He gently injects it into her neck. “We should go. The- I can drive the car for a little-little bit, there’s- I know of an abandoned shack nearby.”

 _Why doesn’t he just run?_ Goris wonders. _She can’t stop him. He seems to actually care about her, though. It still doesn’t make sense. These two defy everything I’ve ever read about humans._ He grunts in agreement and helps Lenny pick up Carla and settle her in the passenger seat. Then Lenny turns the keys in the ignition and starts driving away from the bloody battleground.

They drive for five minutes before Lenny breaks the silence.

“Don’t- don’t tell her I killed that thing, please,” he quietly says. “I’m going to say that you killed- that you took care of them all, and that she must- I guess she must have lost my- the spare gun when she fell.”

“Okay,” Goris rumbles. “Why would you lie about that, though?”

Lenny fidgets with the steering wheel. “She’d get real worried- real afraid if she knew I- that I’d been in a fight. I don’t want to- to scare her like that.”

Goris can’t help but comment, “because she’d hurt you, right?”

Lenny flinches. “She’s right, though. I- I’m just a doctor, I’d get hurt, I- I can’t- I’m too weak.” His voice trails away. “She’s right.”

Goris doesn’t say anything. They pull up to a rotting shack and Lenny stops the car. Together, they set Carla down on the dusty floor. Lenny sets her bag next to her and drapes a blanket over her body. He looks at the door, then back down at her unconscious form.

“Why don’t you just leave?” Goris asks. “She wouldn’t be able to find you.”

“She would,” Lenny whispers, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “And I- I don’t know, I can’t just _leave_. She- we- we do things _together_ , Goris. And she- she’s not bad to me, she wouldn’t have to- to protect me like this if I didn’t keep messing up.”

“That’s why she’s like that, then? You messed up and made her mad one time?”

Lenny nods and rummages through Carla’s bag. He pulls out the handcuffs and sets them in his lap. “Y-yeah, almost a- probably a month ago. I didn’t – I didn’t trust her, and I worried too- too much about things she said- that she told me not to worry about. But she did that because she,” he smiles, eyes soft, “because she loves me, and because she- she wants to protect me.”

“And do you love her?” Goris asks. _I’ve read about Stockholm Syndrome before. And abuse. And Lenny could be the example of learned helplessness in the Vault medical dictionary. He can’t realize that when you really love someone, you don’t hurt them._

Lenny fastens the handcuffs around one of bony hands, locking the other one in place behind his back by jamming it against the wall of the shack. He lays next to Carla and snuggles under her arm so it’s wrapped around him.

“Yes, I do,” he murmurs. “I love – I love her so much.” He smiles and closes his eyes, tucking his head under Carla’s and matching her breathing. Goris watches him fall asleep and curls up himself, keeping a wary eye on the door.

Goris wants to believe that Lenny is lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Carla killed the Hubologists, Evil Carla joins them. They both hate Wanamingos with a burning passion, because those abominations are so hard to kill, no matter your experience. 
> 
> Would you believe me if I said that I had no idea that Evil Carla was going to turn so dark? Because I really did not think it would all turn out like this. I'm just as surprised as you, folks. I will admit that it is kind of fun to be able to set aside all of the normal constraints that I place on my characters, just to experiment and see what they'll do. It's part of why 'If at first you don't succeed' was so fun to write. 
> 
> Go read the alternate ???Good??? ending [here.](https://owlaholic68.tumblr.com/post/167242200619/you-werent-like-this-yesterday-chapter-3)


End file.
